Words: 3k

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  Max had a mission.

  A very important mission.

  A revenge mission.

  Alex had absolutely wrecked her earlier. He outpyed, out-teased, and walked away like a smug, untouchable billionaire menace.

  But Max Bck?

  She wasn't oo lose.

  She had a pn.

  She was going to walk out into this party dressed like a rich vilin's wife, flip her hair, drop a few well-pced ents, and watch Alex squirm for onbsp;

  She was ready. That was, of course, until... "Sniff!"

  The smell hit her.

  Her entire world stopped.

  Barbecue.

  Smoky, perfectly grilled, mouthwatering barbecue.

  Her brain, which had been pletely preoccupied with flirt warfare, immediately reset.

  Max turned her head so fast that Caroline flinched. "What—?"

  Max was already gone.

  Like a starving lion, she power-walked past the kids, past the decorations, past whatever fancy speech Alex robably about to make, and straight to the massive food table lined with grilled meats, fresh fruits, warm bread, and of course their beautifully frosted cupcakes.

  Caroliill adjusting the strap of her pastel dress, sighed deeply as she caught up. "So much for y 'ruin Alex's peace' pn."

  Max, now holding a full pte of ribs, chi, and grilled , grinned. "Revenge wait. This? This is primal need."

  Caroline rolled her eyes but graciously accepted her own pte from one of the volunteers.

  Max took her first bite of the juiciest, most perfectly seasoned rib she had ever tasted. "Mummmm~" And she moaned. Loudly.

  Caroline's eyes widened in horror. "Max!"

  Some kids turo look. A few giggled.

  Max, pletely shameless, waved a bone in Caroline's face. "Blondie. I am experieng a religious moment right now. Let me live."

  Caroline pihe bridge of her nose. "I swear, if you make one inappropriate joke..."

  "I won't," Max said, taking ane bite. "Not in front of the kids."

  Caroline sighed in relief.

  Max swallowed and added, "But I will be thinking it very loudly."

  Caroline groaned. "Max."

  Max licked her fingers, eyes rolling ba pure bliss. "If I ever get arrested, tell the cops it was because I tried to marry this rib."

  Caroline shook her head, grabbing a skewer of grilled pineapple. "How are you this feral?"

  Max poi her pte with a rib bone. "Blondie, we spent all night baking. I have been running e and caffeine fumes. I'm about six minutes away from losing sciousness. But right now? I'm alive. And it's because of this food."

  Caroline sighed but had to admit that it was really good. The volunteers and staff had really gone all out for this.

  Across the wn, the kids were ughiing, and running around like the happiest little menaces in the world. Some were stag cupcakes into weird little frosting towers, others were pying tag he pyground.

  Max, finally slowing down from her feeding frenzy, leaned against the table and watched the chaos.

  It was... nice.

  Really nice.

  For a moment, she fot about everything else... the stress of the bakery, the ck of sleep, even her personal war against Alex.

  This?

  This was actually good.

  She nudged Caroline. "Look at them."

  Caroline smiled, watg as a little girl excitedly shoved aire cupcake into her mouth, frosting all over her face.

  Caroline chuckled. "This is what it's all about, huh?"

  Max exhaled. "Yeah." She didn't say it out loud, but... This was so much better than the life she was used to.

  The he mess, the pure joy?

  It was real.

  And for once, she didn't feel like she had to hustle just to survive.

  She could just... be here.

  With these kids.

  With her best friend.

  With free barbecue.

  Maybe Alex wasn't pletely terrible.

  Caroline gave her a knowing look. "Yetting soft, aren't you?"

  Max scowled. "Shut up, Blondie, a yrilled pineapple."

  Caroline just smirked.

  And for a little while, they just ehe party.

  (Fettiirely that Max was supposed to be on a mission.)

  Meanwhile, Across the Party... Alex, standihe volunteers, watched the whole thing. 'Well, might as well enjoy the day.' He walked over to them.

  Max was halfway through lig sauce off her fingers when she felt it.

  That familiar presence.

  That annoying, stupidly posed, stupidly hot, stupidly rich preseanding way too close to her.

  "Enjoying yourself?"

  That deep voice. Smooth as sin.

  She closed her eyes, exhaled slowly, aally prepared herself for battle.

  Wheurned, Alex Wilson stood there, looking like he belonged on a magazine cover instead of an orphanage barbecue.

  Max swallowed her bite and squi him suspiciously.

  "Why do you sound like you know something I don't?"

  Alex smirked. "I just wasn't expeg that level of enthusiasm over ribs."

  Caroline, ever the traitor, snorted into her pte.

  Max narrowed her eyes. "Listen, Moneybags. I've had a long night, a stressful m, and I have been running purely e and caffeine. I deserve this."

  Alex raised an eyebrow. "So what I'm hearing is, barbecue was enough to make you fet whatever eborate scheme you were pnning against me? I thought you would be ing after me after that i."

  Max froze mid-bite.

  'Shit.'

  She had fotten.

  And now he knew.

  Caroline lost it, wheezing into her pte.

  Alex smirked like a man who had just won two rounds of this game without even trying.

  Max scowled. "You're awfully cocky for someoanding so close to my reach."

  He shrugged, unbothered. "I like to live dangerously."

  Max held up a sauce-covered and half-eaten rib before his face. "I will stab you with this."

  He went ahead and took a bite off the end. "Nicely done," he said around a mouthful. He looked into her eyes and smiled a little before saying, "Beautiful."

  Max stared at him.

  Her brain?

  Gone.

  Wiped.

  Blue-sed.

  Alex had just...

  Just...

  SHE WAS GOING TO KILL HIM.

  The man had the audacity, the absolute o lean in, take a bite of her rib like they were sharing a damn romantic meal, and then pliment her cooking like he wasn't currently ruining her entire existence.

  Her fingers still hovered midair where the rib used to be, her brain gging like an overheated Windows XP puter.

  Alex, oher hand? Perfectly posed. He chewed. Swallowed. Smirked. And wiped the er of his mouth with his thumb like a goddamn movie se.

  Max?

  She stuttered.

  "You... what... I... you just—"

  Caroline choked on her pineapple skewer.

  Alex quirked an eyebrow. "Something wrong, Max?"

  Max snapped her jaw shut so hard that her teeth almost cracked. She refused to let him see her flustered. Absolutely refused.

  She ched her fist, exhaled slowly through her nose, and gave him the deadliest gre she could muster.

  "...Did you just dy-and-the-tramp my rib?" she accused.

  Alex chuckled, pletely unbothered. "What, you don't like sharing?"

  Max's brairayed her by short-circuiting and fshing an image of her and Alex actually sharing a meal in a dimly lit restaurant, wine gsses king, his haing casually ohigh while he leaned in with that stupid smirk and...

  NO. NOPE. SHUT IT DOWN.

  She shook her head, physically resetting herself like a glitPy god. I hate you so much right now."

  He smirked. "You sure about that?"

  Max opened her mouth to fire back, but all that came out was, "I—uh—mmph—"

  Caroline lost it.

  Alex tilted his head. "Max, are you... stuttering?"

  Max stabbed her fork into her pte so hard it nearly broke. "I AM NOT STUTTERING."

  He took another slow, obnoxiously smug bite of his food. "Mm. Looked like it to me."

  Max wao scream. Or flip the table. Or tackle him to the ground and...

  NO. BAD THOUGHTS. ABORT. ABORT.

  She sucked in a breath, desperately regaining her posure. 'Think, Max. You're a menace. You bounce back from this.'

  Alex went past her and grabbed his pte and put some meat and veggies on his pte.

  "You know, Moneybags," she purred, voice low and sweetly venomous, "if you wao taste something of mine, you could've just asked."

  Caroline audibly gasped and turned into a human embodiment of the shocked Pikachu meme.

  Alex?

  For the first time in this entire bad-fame, his smirk faltered. Just for a fra of a sed. But Max saw it.

  VICTORY.

  Max grinned like a Cheshire cat, absolutely reveling in his split-sed hesitation.

  ...

  Alex let out a small huff, shaking his head with a smirk as he grabbed a skewer of grilled shrimp from his pte. He took his time, chewing slowly, pletely unbothered—oside. But Max saw it.

  That millised of hesitation. That tiny flicker of something in his sharp blue eyes.

  He had felt that line.

  Max Bck: 1

  Alex Wilson: Too many, but who's ting?

  She leaned casually against the table, crossing her arms under her chest in a way that she knew emphasized just the right amount of cleavage in that sinful red dress.

  Alex's gaze flicked briefly before he dragged his eyes back up to hers.

  Max's grin widened. "What's wrong, Moneybags? You look like you just realized you're pying with fire."

  Alex exhaled through his nose, shaking his head. "I've handled worse."

  Max tilted her head. "Oh, I don't doubt that. But this?" She gestured at herself, at the dress, at everything. "This is a different game, babe."

  Caroliandiween them like an increasingly ed referee, groaned. "Oh my god. you two just..."

  Alex cut a piece of grilled steak from his pte and popped it into his mouth. "Max, you're adorable when you think you're winning."

  Max's eye twitched.

  Oh, hell no.

  Adorable? ADORA—

  No. No, no. He was trying to tilt her. Trying to reset the board when she just made a power move.

  Not today, rich boy.

  Max licked her lips, pg a hand on her hip as she leaned in just slightly, l her voice. "You think I'm adorable, huh?"

  "Adorable, yes. But don't let it go to your head," he said, his voice smooth, almost teasing. "I'd hate for you to think I'm easily impressed."

  Max's lips curled into a sly smile, her hand still resting on her hip as she tilted her head, her dark hair casg over one shoulder. "Oh, I don't think you're easily impressed, Moneybags. But I do think you're trying really hard not to be impressed right now."

  Alex chuckled, a low, warm sound that sent a flicker of satisfa through her. He reached for his gss of wine, swirling it zily before taking a sip. "You're relentless, you know that?"

  "And you're evasive," she shot back, her grin widening. "But I'm starting to think you like it."

  He set the gss down, his eyes never leaving hers. "Maybe I do. Maybe I like the challenge."

  Max's pulse quied, but she refused to let it show. Instead, she leaned in a little closer, her voice dropping to a near whisper. "Careful, Wilson. Challenges have a way of getting under your skin."

  Alex's gaze flicked to her lips for the briefest of moments before meeting her eyes again. "And what if I want you under my skin, Max?"

  The air between them crackled, thick with tension, and for a moment, her of them moved. Max felt a thrill run through her, but she wasn't about to let him win... not yet. She straightened up, her smile turning pyful. "Well, then yoing to have to work a lot harder than that."

  Alex ughed softly, shaking his head. "You're something else, you know that?"

  "So I've been told," she replied, her tone dripping with mock sweetness.

  Meanwhile, Caroline, who had been standing awkwardly between them, cleared her throat. "Uh, you two realize I'm still here, right?"

  Max and Alex both turo look at her, momentarily pulled out of their bubble. Caroline's cheeks were slightly flushed, and she was clutg her drink like a lifeline. "Actually," she said, taking a step back, "I think I'm just going to… go. You two clearly don't need a referee."

  Max watched Caroline disappear into the crowd, her brows knitting together for half a sed before she turned back to Alex.

  He had that smirk again. The ohat made her want to either kiss him or strangle him. Maybe both.

  But now? Now, something else was clig into p her brain.

  Carolihe slight flush on her face. The weirdly awkward energy she had when things got too flirty. The way she bolted like she just realized she was the third wheel in a very not-safe-for-work situation.

  Oh.

  Ohhhhh.

  Max squi Alex, then flicked her gaze toward where Caroline had disappeared.

  He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

  Max crossed her arms, lips curling into a slow, knowing smirk. "Oh, nothing. Just... putting some puzzle pieces together."

  Alex tilted his head. "That sounds dangerous."

  "For you?" She teased. "Maybe."

  Alex exhaled, amused, and took another sip of his wine. "You gonna share with the css, or are you just gonna keep making that face?"

  Max tapped a finger against her , pretending to think. "Well, I could tell you…" She dragged it out, watg him with sharp amusement. "But I feel like that might ruin the fun."

  He smirked. "You enjoy being a menace, don't you?"

  Max gasped, pg a dramatid on her chest. "How dare you! I am a delight."

  Alex snorted. "Sure, Bck. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

  Max leaned in, l her voice just slightly. "Wouldn't you like to know what helps me sleep at night?"

  "A couple of triple-A batteries and a bottle of lubrit?" Alex deadpanned.

  Max lost it. She couldn't stop the ughter bubbling up in her chest. It was loud, unabashed, and so very Max.

  Alex watched her with a quiet, satisfied smile, like he had just aplished some sort of victory.

  She was so busy ughing that she almost didn't see the way his eyes kled at the ers when he smiled. Or how his shoulders rexed a little as he chuckled along with her. Or the way his gaze softened when he looked at her, like she was something precious, something worth proteg.

  When the ughter finally died down, she looked at him with a renewed sense of curiosity. Who was this man? Is this Alex Wilson? This rich guy who was simultaneously infuriating and intriguing, who could go from smug asshole to soft-eyed charmer in the span of a few minutes?

  Max was so into him it was almost embarrassing. And maybe that art of the problem. She knew better than to get attached to people like him. But damn if he didn't make it hard.

  "Oh my God," Max gasped, clutg her stomach. "Oh my God, Moneybags, what the fuck...!"

  Alex just raised an eyebrow, his smirk deepening. "What? Too accurate?"

  Max took a deep breath, trying tain her posure. It wasn't easy with Alex looking at her like that. Like he was enjoying every minute of her amusement. Like he'd be happy to keep making her ugh for the rest of the day or maybe night.

  She exhaled slowly, her ughter subsiding into a soft smile. "I 't believe you just said that."

  Alex chuckled. "Believe it, Bck. I have a very vivid imagination. And was I right?"

  "Yes!" Max answered before she could think about it. "Wait, no. I mean..." Her cheeks flushed. "I'm not gonna tell you what gets me off, dude."

  Alex quirked an eyebrow, his smirk widening. "So I was right."

  Max rolled her eyes but couldn't quite hide her grin. "I hate you so much."

  "And here I was thinking of giving you girls an tract... Haaa..." He sighed. "What to do? The cupcake maker hates me so much."

  Max's eyes widened. 'An tract... Bigger than this one? Bigger = more money.'

  The gears in her head started spinning.

  Alex, oher hand, was watg her with that same, satisfied smirk.

  She looked up at him. "You wouldn't."

  He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, wouldn't I?"

  Max narrowed her eyes, leaning forward. "You're bluffing. You don't have anything else."

  Alex tilted his head, his smirk never wavering. "Are you willing to take that ce?"

  Max pursed her lips, studying him closely. She knew she ying with fire, but damn if she wasn't tempted. "e on, Wilson. Spill it."

  Alex leaned in, l his voice to a near whisper. "Maybe over a dinner, Sunday. 9?"

  She blinked. 'Sunday... Wait...' She gasped. "Is that a date?"

  He shrugged. "That's fine if you want it to be."

  Max stared at him, her mind rag. On the one hand, she could get more work and money. But oher... this was Alex fug Wilson, and he was asking her on a date.

  "Deal," she said, holding out her hand. "I'm not gonna say no to free food."

  Alex chuckled and shook her hand. "You fot to add 'awesome pany'."

  She smirked, her grip tightening around his hand. "We'll see about that."

  Alex's eyes flicked to their joined hands before meeting hers again. His gaze was intense, almost hungry, and Max felt a shiver run down her spine. "I look forward to it."

  She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. "Yeah, me too."

  They stood there for a moment, hand in hand, their eyes locked in a silent battle of wills.

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